Lagavulin 16 Year Old is truly a benchmark Islay whisky. It’s loved for its deep, earthy, and maritime character with rich notes of dried fruit, vanilla, and smokiness that comes from Islay peat but is more akin to Lapsang Souchong tea in profile.
Before Lagavulin 16, the distillery did have a 12-year-old single malt. But when Diageo launched the Classic Malt series in the 1980s, Lagavulin 16 Year Old was introduced and became the distillery's flagship bottling. It received a boost in popularity after featuring in Parks and Recreation as a favourite drink of Nick Offerman’s character Ron Swanson. Offerman has since collaborated with the distillery on several occasions.
If you're looking for a food pairing for this beauty, try intensely flavoured salty blue cheeses, which complement the intense, peat-rich, sweet and salty character of this Lagavulin wonderfully.
More like Lapsang Souchong tea than Lapsang Souchong! One of the smokiest noses from Islay. It's big, very, very concentrated, and redolent of iodine, sweet spices, good, mature Sherry and creamy vanilla. Stunning.
Very thick and rich. A massive mouthful of malt and Sherry with good fruity sweetness, but also a wonderful sweetness. Big, powerful peat and oak.
Long, spicy finish, figs, dates, peat smoke, vanilla.
When I first tried laga 16 I was a little underwhelmed. I'd read so many reviews of it being 'the one' but it seemed just another Islay. Some iodine, some smoked kippers and the rest of the usual suspects for Hebridean whisky. Next to my Ledaig 18 it seemed a little one dimensional. I did however persist and keep returning to it. One magical night after a dram of a single barrelcask strength bourbon I came back to it. A few drops of water, 15 mins to open up and I took a sip. Suddenly it revealed itself to me in all its glory, the balance is just exceptional. It opens with a salvo of mellow smoke, followed by a flash of aniseed on the tongue before sherry and chocolate sit on top of a blustery western shore. It fades into the distance leaving smoked meats, chocolate and oak, finally dissipating to fennel seed on the back of the tongue. I don't know why it took me so long to fully appreciate its glory but it's a great, great whisky.
Delicious on the nose and on the taste. Dried fruit, caramel, vanilla, bbq, sherried biscuits, peat. brine, savory, roasted almonds with baked apples, hit of mint and sweet and sour plum sauce and of cousre smoke.
The title says it all. As a fan of peated whiskeys, there are 2 bottles I return to: the Lagavulin 16 on Fridays and better days and the Talisker Dark Storm on weekdays :-). Its a wonderfull whiskey, the aroma peated but not too agressive, woody and relaxing. The taste reflects the peatiness (as opposed to a Laphroaig where smell beats taste) with some sea and leather in there. If you take the peated whiskey trip: start with a Talisker Skye, work your way up to Talisker 10, Dark Storm and finally a Lagavulin. Hope you will appreciate it as I did.
This Scotch belongs in a place of honor. Delicious both on the nose and on the palate. The earthy notes and seaside brine meld nicely with a sweetness that lingers and finishes with the classic Islay conviction. The best value for a 16 year old anywhere !
For me, the Laga 16 is a wonderful example of peat, iodine, age and balance. Very consistent, at least in the few years I have drank it. Not as “out-going” as the Ardbergs or Laphroiags but the balance and age always makes me sit back and think - oh yeah.
